Another baptism and a transfer!

3/3/15  First off, the baptism went great this Saturday. We were able to have the font completely full, and that never happens! We were a little worried because the baptism was scheduled for 7:00, but Antonio told us he would have a hard time getting there early so we could get everything ready. Turns out he showed up at 6:30 in a suit and tie with his two kids and his parents. We were so excited to get to know them, and they really enjoyed the service. Elder Contreras performed the ordinance, and everything went very well. After the service, he asked me if I could do the confirmation the next day, and that kind of stressed me out a bit, but of course I said yes. I didn't really study much of what I was going to say, but the spirit was so strong during the confirmation, and the words just came to me. Afterwards I was told that my Spanish was perfect. That was a huge testimony builder for me.

We got the call on Saturday telling us about transfers, and I got transferred. It was hard saying goodbye to all of the members I have gotten to know so well. Ines invited us over on Monday to say goodbye, and she gave me a really nice tie. She is the sweetest person alive, and I will really miss her. Maria also invited us over, and I had my first paella, and it was super good. Even though it was hard to say goodbye, I was really excited to have the opportunity to see other places and meet other people.

Today I had to be at the train station at 11:00 because the train left at 11:13. I got there at 11:10 and missed the train. Me and Elder Ahlstrom, who was traveling with me, had to buy new tickets, and we got to Barcelona without any problems. Every time there are transfers, all of the missionaries being transferred meet at McDonald's in the Barcelona train station, and leave for their new area from there. It was really funny to see a huge swarm of missionaries in the train station like that. I had to wait for a while, but I finally found my new companion Elder Jonson. He is from Lehi, and has been out for just over a year. We hopped on a train to take us over to my new area. I am now writing you from Vilafranca. Its a city about an hour out of Barcelona, and from what I have seen of it, I am going to love this place. It looks like such a beautiful city. It's a lot smaller that Zaragoza, and as such, we are the only Elders here, although there is a sister companionship as well. There is a lot more stuff to do in our area such as hikes and other such things. I am super excited to be serving with Elder Jonson, and I can´t wait to see what Vilafranca has in store.

Justin and Elder Contreras with Antonio at his baptism

Justin with his new companion Elder Jonson

Two interesting encounters...

2/23/15  This week we were able to teach Maria as a recent convert. She is so happy right now, and I can see that having the gospel in her life has changed her so much! We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her, and she loved it! I hope it helped her understand a little bit more about Joseph Smith, and why he is so important. I think she was actually crying during some parts.

We have also been teaching Antonio, and he is progressing very well. We taught him the word of wisdom this week in a bar just after he had been drinking some coffee. We were a little nervous about it, but he didn't seem to have any problem with it. He told us that he would quit drinking coffee. He came to church yesterday, and informed us that he is doing very well with that commandment, and it made me really happy to hear that. He is scheduled to be baptized this Saturday at 7:00! Keep him in your prayers! Specifically that we will be able to visit with him as much as possible, because his work schedule is really crazy.

A couple of really funny experiences yesterday, the first of which will probably surprise you. We had a lesson with a catholic priest from California. His name was father Juan. He asked to meet us in the chapel of the hospital, which is a little weird, but we went anyways. When we got there there was another priest just leaving. He told father Juan to convert us in a joking way. It was more a conversation of our faiths than a lesson, but I think it went well. I got very lost in the conversation several times even though we were speaking English. He was taking very simple doctrines, like that we are all children of God, and making them super complex. Super confusing, but despite our conflicting views on such things as the Godhead, he was very intrigued by us, and invited us to return whenever we could. He was very nice and very friendly, and it was nice to teach an American for a change.

Later that day, we were stopped on the street outside a bar by two women asking about our missionary badges. We explained that we are missionaries for the Mormon church. That may have been a little mistake... We soon learned that the one was atheist, and the other agnostic. While we were talking a little about religion, one of their friends came out of the bar, joined in, and told us he was Jewish. He was soon followed by another atheist, a catholic, a Jehovah's Witness, and another agnostic. The Jew started a conversation about what each religion had done for the world, claiming the parting of the Red Sea for the Jewish. As always, the perfect idea didn't come to me until it was about 2 hours too late, but that would have been a great opportunity to say "our religion has this, The Book of Mormon." BOOM! Would have been perfect, but instead we just shared something about families, which may have been our second mistake... We were then accused of the typical polygamy issue, which we then had to explain that we don't believe in that. This little religious kumbaya is one experience I don't think I will easily forget. They were all very nice and funny people, and I hope we were able to at least plant a little seed in them. Maybe next time they see missionaries, they will be more inclined to listen to them.

Love you so much, and have a great week!!